Phillies Say Zack Wheeler Underwent Successful Surgery As Road Back To Mound Begins

Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler underwent successful surgery.

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The Philadelphia Phillies have been one of the best teams in baseball during the second half of the year, owning a 37-23 record that resulted in them winning back-to-back NL East titles.

On the verge of also clinching a bye in the postseason, there were many out there who didn't know what to expect out of this Phillies team once it was announced that Zack Wheeler needed to undergo a procedure to remove a blood clot and then get surgery to address the thoracic outlet syndrome he was diagnosed as having.

It's been a little over a month since that bombshell news was dropped, but Philadelphia has responded with a championship mindset to set themselves up with a great opportunity to make another deep playoff run.

Zack Wheeler Undergoes Successful Surgical Procedure

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Wheeler was scheduled to undergo surgery to treat vascular thoracic outlet syndrome on Sept. 23, and according to Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic, manager Rob Thomson announced that the procedure was deemed to be successful.

With that now in the books, the road for the superstar ace to get back on the mound has officially started, as he will do the requisite recovery necessary coming out of this operation before taking the next steps to return to pitching in 2026.

The recovery timeline is estimated to be about six-eight months, which means Wheeler could be back early next season for the Phillies if everything goes as planned. But what will come out of this recovery as Wheeler tries to remain one of the best pitchers in baseball?

There's Optimism Zack Wheeler Will Make Full Recovery

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Varnes did a longform story for the The Athletic (subscription required) where she highlighted Merrill Kelly's recovery and spoke with Dr. Dean Donahue, the director of Massachusetts General Hospital's thoracic outlet syndrome program.

Kelly also had vascular thoracic outlet syndrome instead of neurogenic, which makes his journey back to the mound more similar to what Wheeler will face compared to the other thoracic outlet syndrome recoveries that have been documented regarding other athletes.

While Donahue is not Wheeler's doctor, he provided optimism that the Phillies ace will be back to himself at some point when he returns, as he stated, "the expectation is to be able to return to full function."

Of course, everything varies depending on the person. So Wheeler's body at 35 years old could recover differently than Kelly's did when he underwent his procedure at the age of 31. But Donahue also pointed out that venous thoracic outlet syndrome results in full recovery more often than neurogenic symptoms since, "nerves recover very slowly in general."

If Wheeler progresses through his rehabilitation steps and gets to the point where he is back on the mound and throwing a baseball again, he likely won't have to make any changes to his pitching motion, which is another major positive.

"... vascular cases may be less likely to cause additional problems by altering a pitcher's mechanics or form to deal with long-term pain," wrote Varnes.

All of this should provide hope that Wheeler will be able to make a full recovery and be back on the mound as one of the best starting pitchers in baseball as his career comes to a close.